Ann Arbor's Classic Bike Show & Swap Meet moves to Monroe County Fairgrounds
After 40 years of hosting bicycle shows, the Ann Arbor Classic Bike Show and Swap Meet needed more space and moved to Monroe.
The one-day event held Sunday at the First Merchants Bank Expo Center at the Monroe County Fairgrounds featuring more than 250 dealers from across the country.
Many years ago, when Paul Kleppert was a car collector, he was invited to go look at a collection of bicycles.
"I found the bicycle I had when I was a kid, a 1959 Columbia Newsboys Special for doing a paper route,” Kleppert said. “Once I found the bike, I was hooked.”
Kleppert estimates he has 25 bicycles in his personal collection, including some rare ones. In 1982, he and his wife, Anne, began hosting classic bicycle shows and swap meets in Ann Arbor.
"After 40 years in one location, we needed more space so we moved our show to Monroe. Our last show in Ann Arbor had more than 10,000 classic, vintage, and collectible bicycles and nearly every major bicycle maker in the last century was represented,” Kleppert said.
Eventgoers paid a $5 admission and received a ticket to be entered in a door prize raffle. Four new collector bikes were given away throughout the day. The winner did not have to be present to win.
Margie Bajor of Carleton and her friend, Debbie Kuehnlein of Monroe, shopped early and left with two Schwinn bikes and wire baskets. Bajor bought the bikes with the intention of painting them and putting flowers in the baskets to make garden bikes. But, she said there’s a good possibility instead of adding them to her landscape, she may clean them up so that she and Debbie can enjoy riding them.
Dealers, with bikes and bike accessories, peppered the walkways as visitors headed to the Expo Center for the show bikes.
The building was filled with bicycle aficionados looking to buy and sell. In the center of the building, classic show bikes were displayed and the public could cast votes for their favorite. There were 12 categories such as Best Unrestored, Best Lady’s, Best Motorized Bike and Best Bike of each decade from 1930 to 1970.
Bob Snyder from Kentucky negotiated a “best don’t want to take it home price” on a 1935 Hawthorne Ladies Silver King. The bike came from Kleppert’s collection. Priced at $800, Snyder took it home for $500.
"The bike has great bones,” Snyder said, a collector with more than 20 bikes of his own. “I’m especially interested in the Delta light battery tube that’s on the bike.”
Over the years, the show has had dealers from every state in the U.S. This year, one dealer traveled from Alaska to participate. North Shore Cyclery owner Shawn Thelen and Melissa Sietsma drove from Talkeetna, Alaska to attend. The couple are moving to Spain and have decided to travel to different shows to sell their vast collection.
"There’s no better place to do it than the largest bike show in Monroe. So far, we’ve done pretty well here,” Thelen said. “We drove from Alaska with 80 bikes. After the show, we’ll go to Minnesota and reload. I have about 900 bikes there before heading to Massachusetts, Indiana, California, and Seattle before we head back up.”
Sid Balogh of Akron, Ohio, may have been one of the youngest dealers of the day. As his dad, Josh, sold bikes ranging in age from 1930 to 1980, the 11-year-old pedaled around the fairgrounds with a handwritten sign advertising that his bike was for sale. His asking price was $150.
"It’s a 1948 Schwinn DX,” Balogh said. “I’ve already had an offer for $100 but I think I’m going to wait. I’m selling the bike so I can get a new back tire for my 1970’s Huffy.”
Patrons didn’t have to rent a space to sell their bikes. Outside the entrance of the center was the classic bike corral. Bike owners pay $10 to display a bike for sale. If no one meets the asking price, the owner keeps the bike and receives a $5 refund.
After four decades of hosting bike shows, the Klepperts have decided to retire. The couple received an appreciation award from Scott McCaskey of Texas, owner of the Classic & Antique Bicycle Exchange, https://thecabe.com, an online forum for vintage and antique bike enthusiasts.
"I’ve come to Paul and Annie’s shows for the past 25 years,” McCaskey said. “They are wonderful people and they will be missed.”
According to Kleppert, auto swap meet & car show hosts, Nick and Sue Avina of Napoleon, Ohio, will assume ownership and host next year’s show.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Classic Bike Show & Swap Meet moves to Monroe
